Novak's blonde good looks won her a contract with Columbia, and she debuted in two films in 1954. She quickly became a popular star, and her liaisons with Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, and Sammy Davis Jr. added to her cachet. Her strongest acting performances came opposite Jimmy Stewart in Hitchcock's Vertigo (1953) and Bell, Book, and Candle (1958). Her career faded somewhat in the 1960s. Most recently she appeared in the 1986–87 season of the TV series Falcon Crest. She also appeared in Mike Figgis's Liebestraum (1991).